


Leave your mark with ink.

by Sayumi_Kioko



Series: ColdFlash Week 2018 (October) [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, ColdFlash Week 2018, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lewis Snart's A+ Parenting, M/M, Not Beta Read, Past Child Abuse, Pre-Relationship, Secret Identity, Secret Identity Fail, Tattoo Artist Leonard Snart, Tattoo Artist Mick Rory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-25 03:16:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16188941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sayumi_Kioko/pseuds/Sayumi_Kioko
Summary: ColdFlash Week 2018 - Day 5: Tattoo Shop.Leonard Snart was a thief. In fact, he was one of the better thieves in the world but he wasn’t known for that. He and his partner were too good to leave any proof behind so whenever they made a heist, no one knew who had done it. In Central City, where they lived most time of the year, they were known for their tattoos.





	Leave your mark with ink.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I guess I'm getting comfortable writing in english if this work has anything to say hahaha  
> I hope you all enjoy it!  
> Remember, please: english is not my first language.

Leonard Snart was a thief. In fact, he was one of the better thieves in the world but he wasn’t known for that. He and his partner were too good to leave any proof behind so whenever they made a heist, no one knew who had done it. In Central City, where they lived most time of the year, they were known for their tattoos.

They could have lived loosely thanks to their art, but Snart loved the rush, the adrenaline and all the feelings he could feel when he was doing a heist with Mick. Besides, robbed money was the one they used to open their loved shop. Because they loved their tattoo studio.

They took care of the shop the better they could. They were nice with their customers, not friendly, of course, but professional and they made sure everyone left satisfied with their work.

Lisa was with them too, of course, but that was a hobby for her and she just was there Fridays in the afternoon and Saturdays because she had a part time job from Monday to Friday. She had never done a heist, Leonard hadn’t wanted her to, so she was far away from the criminal world.

Snart and Mick used to do just a big heist per year or maybe two if they were feeling like it and they were always during holidays and mostly in other cities. If the thieves wanted to hit some bank or jewelry in Central City they took even more precautions.

They weren’t greedy and if they saw something was going to go wrong, they just accept it and leave. Luckily for them, that just happened once, when the arsonist was having a very rough day and was too focused in his lighter. One part of the plan was to burn down an empty warehouse and Leonard had had a hunch. He knew his partner and he also knew that if Rory set the fire, he would stay there and let his own body burn, so Snart decided that his friend life was more valuable and took him somewhere lonely where he could watch things burn safely.

They could live perfectly fine with one year not doing a heist or just planning another one for next holidays.

But right in that moment, Leonard and Mick were opening after their holidays’ break and saw a boy pacing outside while they were cleaning. For a moment, both of them glanced at the guy and finally they looked at each other. The arsonist frowned and Snart shrugged.

They went back to their tasks, but Leonard kept glancing at the young boy. He was nervous, that was obvious, and in some moment he called someone and it seemed like he was arguing with the person he was talking to. Finally, the call ended, the guy sighed and after thinking a little bit he entered in the shop.

“Good morning.”  The owner was fast to say. “Can I help you with something?”

“I want a tattoo?” The guy looked at his feet and scratched the back of his head. “I mean, that’s obvious, right? I’m here after all.”

“Maybe I’m wrong, but you don’t seem to like the idea.” Snart raised his eyebrows. He was curious about the boy and he actually loved his job. He didn’t want anyone regretting having a tattoo on their body. “Are you sure about this?”

“Well, I…” The guy blushed and then cleared his throat. “I have lost a bet and my best friend was supposed to be here with me because I need the moral support but she just told me that right now she’s really busy and I’ll have to do all this by myself.” He rambled a little bit embarrassed and turned even redder when he realized he told the other man too much. “I’m sorry, I tend to ramble when I’m nervous.”

“Don’t worry, kid.” Leonard snorted. “If you really don’t want a tattoo I can make you a temporary one.” The man smirked and approached the guy. “If you want I can do it somewhere where people can’t see it easily, then you could show it to your friends and then never show it again, they’ll never know.”

“No, it’s okay.” Barry shook his head slowly but smiled slightly. “I actually wanted to have a tattoo, but the problem is that I don’t know what I want.” He ruffled his hair nervously and looked at the worker in the eyes. “ Iris was going to help me, but since she’s not here…”

“Wait a second.” Snart said and then left the boy alone for a moment. He went to his office and grabbed two books before he went back to where the guy was standing. “Have a sit and take a look at these albums.” He pointed to a sofa and sat himself. “These are the designs we would be able to do right now if you wanted to.” Leonard explained. “If any of these satisfy you I have other albums with more complex designs, but I would have to prepare them, so you would have to wait a few days because we’ll be busy.”

Barry only nodded and started watching the drawings. They were beautiful, but none of them were special enough to have it in his body for the rest of his life. Then, suddenly saw a snowflake and stared at it for a while, losing himself in his thinking.

“I want it.” The boy pointed to the design he had chosen and looked at the other man. “I like the snowflake.”

Leonard couldn’t help but smile. “You have a good taste, you know?” The man smirked. “This one is my favorite.” He said. “It’s simple but at the same time it’s complex and beautiful.”

“My mother gave me a snowflake in a slide but when…” The guy cleared his throat and swallowed. “When I moved to another house I lost it.” He sighed. The police didn’t let Barry go back to his house and take his things so as expected a lot of his stuff went missing. “It would be nice to have something that makes me think about her more often.” He said. “But if it’s possible I’d like to make some additions?” When Leonard nodded Barry kept talking. “I’d like it to be rainbow-colored in diagonal and to write a date below the snowflake.”

“Rainbow like the flag?” Snart asked and when the boy nodded blushed again. It was very cute. “Okay, it’s easy.” He smiled. “Why don’t you go to have some coffee or something and then come back? I’ll try to have the sketch by then and you can tell me if you like it or not.”

Barry nodded and left to a coffee shop that was across the street. He had nothing to do besides drink his coffee so he distracted himself with his mobile, watching friends’ pictures on Facebook and Instagram.

When he finally went back to the tattoo shop there were three customers inside and one of them was being guided to a small room by the arsonist.

“Hey, cutie, I’m glad you’re back.” Barry blushed when he realized he hadn’t said his name to the other man. “I wasn’t aware of the hour and I have to attend another customer.” He explained grabbing a piece of paper of his table. Usually his timing was faultless, but the cute guy had distracted him a little bit. “If you have somewhere to be or something to do I can try to find an hour for you one of these days, but if you can wait, when I finish with this man I can attend you.” Snart gave the boy the sheet with the design Barry wanted. “You don’t have to leave, though, if you want you can watch me work, Tyler said he’s okay with it if you don’t distract me too much.”

For a moment, Barry thought about it. He could leave and be back in a while, go for a walk, maybe eat an ice cream, call Iris again and see if she was finally free and could be with him while waiting, but on the other hand he could be with a handsome man that was flirting with him without shame and wanted to show off for him.

To choose what to do was very easy. “I’d like to stay and watch if you really don’t have a problem.” Barry smiled and glanced de drawing. It was beautiful and something he would have on his skin forever gladly. “This is perfect.” The boy smiled. “By the way, my name is Barry Allen.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Scarlet.” The owner of the place winked at him and smirked when the guy blushed again.  “And well, if you’re gonna stay with me, then follow me.”

Barry did that and stayed with the other man, watching him work. They talked and in that while the young boy could relax because he was able to see how the man worked and the good job he was doing. He found that Leonard was trustworthy and that it would be okay let his body on his hands, or well, below them so he could work.

When Snart was finished with his customer, he left Barry in the room meanwhile that Tyler guy paid him and once Leonard went back where the boy was both of them smiled.

“Well, Scarlet, tell me where you want the tattoo and the date you want me to write.” He asked after he started to change the needles and some tools. “I can give you some advice if you want.”

Barry’s cheeks turned pink and then he nodded, so Leonard began to enumerate body parts where the snowflake would look pretty, but finally Barry chose it to be over his heart. He thought that he would feel closer to his mom and when Leonard finished with him he actually felt it in some way.

“Thank you for everything, Leonard.” The boy said sincerely with a smile in his face. He knew that not so many people would have made an effort like Snart did and he was really thankful for that. “If I lose another bet, I’ll come here for sure.” He teased.

“I’m glad to hear that.” The man smirked. “Now, Barry, I could make you a discount on the prize if you give me your number and accept to go on a date with me.”

The brunette blushed and looked at his feet. “I can’t do that, I’d feel awful.” He scratched the back of his neck and smiled bashfully. “But I’ll go gladly on a date with you.”

Leonard glanced at the guy with surprise, snorted and told him how much he had to pay before starting to give him tips to take care of the tattoo. Barry paid, of course, exchanged phone numbers and when finally the young boy went back to his home, Mick gave a slap on his partner’s back.

For a few weeks Barry and Snart had chats and it was obvious that both of them wanted to hang out and talk in person, but both of them were busy men with their works and all of that. Once they managed to meet, but the brunette was called from work after half an hour and had to go.

But Leonard wasn’t worried. His Scarlet was a sweet boy and he had promised him that he would be that busy only for a month or so and then he would have a more relaxed agenda. So Snart believed him and waited.

Unluckily for both of them (but more for Barry, of course) the Particle Accelerator exploded and the brunette couldn’t answer his messages anymore.

That fact worried Leonard a lot because he didn’t know what the hell had happened and he didn’t know either if Scarlet was okay, so he did the one thing he could think of: he stalked the boy.

He searched for him in sites like Twitter, Instagram , etc. Doing so he saw that Barry hadn’t been active since the explosion and because of that he was even more concerned now. He didn’t know what could have happened to Scarlet, but he was going to find out for sure.

Leonard made his research like he was casing a place, like he was planning a heist, and in no time he learnt a lot about Barry. He found out interesting things about his past, like his mother’s murder and the arrest of his father for committing said murder. Also, he learnt about his musical tastes and little things about his social life, but the most important thing to learn was that he was at the hospital because he was struck by a lighting the day of the explosion.

Snart went to visit him once, but when he tried to go for the second time Barry had been translated to STAR Labs. He frowned when he heard the news because that was, in fact, weird, but he just accepted it for the moment and decided to start planning a trip with his partner.

A few months later the criminals were at another country and the brunette woke up from the coma with amazing superpowers.

Barry used them to protect people, the innocents that lived in Central City, he used them to fight the metahumans that only thought about themselves and robbed or tried to hurt other people.

When Mick and Leonard returned to their city heard the rumors and the news almost instantly. A red streak was saving people and no one knew what it was or why it was doing that.

Snart was excited about the idea of having a superhero in his city, even if it wasn’t human. “I have to meet them.” He said with a maniacal grin on his face. “I have to show them that I’m way better.”

Rory raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you serious right now?” He asked unimpressed. “Are you going to become a super villain? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Don’t worry, Mick, I’m not gonna be a dramatic ass, I’m just going to do a private show for them.” He smirked, already planning about what to do. “But you’re gonna stay here, I’ll need someone to break me out of prison if something goes wrong.”

The arsonist sighed tiredly and shook his head but both of them knew that he was going to do what he was told even if he was thinking what a drama queen his partner was. Mick just hoped that the other criminal didn’t get himself caught because a break out of a prison would be a freaking pain in the ass.

Anyway, Leonard planned this one like any other heist, with patience and logic. Whatever the hell that streak was it could be stopped like anything else, machine, animal or human. But this thing was too fast, so normal bullets wouldn’t work and that’s why he started talking with some arm dealers. He needed to find a weapon that could be used against this streak.

Something like a normal gun or some kind of sword wouldn’t work, of course. If this thing was as fast as it seemed, it could avoid the bullets, the blow or the weapon in general, so he had to find something that created an electric field or similar.

When he crossed paths with that cold gun he decided that it would do the trick. He could use it to freeze the floor and even maybe the thing without hurting it. After all if it was alive he didn’t want to hurt them or disable them, it was doing a good job protecting the city.

Snart bought the weapon along with another gun for Mick without showing his face or actually saying his name. He even had a voice modulator so no one could recognize him just for hearing him talk. He did all his deals with the underworld that way because he couldn’t trust in people he didn’t know or people that would use his identity just for their gain. Knowledge is power and he wasn’t going to let anyone other than Mick and his sister know who he really was.

Without losing time he got together a disposable team and told him what the plan was. Or well, mostly. He didn’t tell them that he was expecting a visitor or that he actually wasn’t that interested in stealing the diamond. When everything was ready they went out and started following the truck until they were far enough of the police stations and proceeded to board the truck.

Just a few seconds later the streak appeared and when he was about to take out his new gun, some idiot shot at the driver. Then, just for a moment, the streak stopped and Leonard could see the shape of a person, probably a man. Now he was sure, this was not military technology or an animal, it was one of the people affected for the explosion of the Particle Accelerator.

He thought about Barry and hopped he could visit him, but for right then he just focused in get away and go back to the place he was using as a temporal base. It was just for this heist and it had been chosen only so he was able to meet with his momentary team.

Snart was angry, of course, he made plans and he liked the others to follow them, so when something went wrong… Well, Leonard was not happy. At all.

He yelled at the man who had killed the guard, argued with him and finally Snart left him unconscious and tied him up. Then he tossed the rest of the team away and took the little murder to a police station with a post-it that said _“I’m the one that killed the guard.”_

When the thief went back to his studio was pleasantly surprised to see the boy who had been in coma waiting for him.

“Um… Hi!” He greeted nervously when he saw Leonard. “First of all, please let me talk, I promise you I hadn’t been ignoring you!” The older one raised his eyebrows with surprise. “When the Particle Accelerator exploded I was struck by lighting and I’ve been in coma, I just woke up recently and my phone was absolutely dead, so I thought I could come here to see you and ask for your number again.”

Snart couldn’t help but laugh when he saw how stressed the other was. “I know, Barry, don’t worry.” He smirked. “When you stopped answering my messages suddenly I went to a few hospitals until I found you, but then they moved you and no one told me where you were, so I haven’t been able to visit you.” Leonard half lied calmly and took out his phone. “I was hoping one day you just text me again or come here, and well, here you are.”

Barry blushed softly and God, Snart had missed that a lot. They talked a while and decided that they would finally have their date in a few days, when both of them would have a free day. 

But of course, Leonard wasn’t going to wait patiently until that day. No, he was still curious about the vigilante and he needed to show him that he was better even without superpowers. No one ever had been able to catch him, to know who he was, and he was going to risk his freedom to let the speedy boy know that he was still a ghost. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?

That’s why he talked with Mick and explained him the new plan after giving him his new weapon. They would ambush the hero somewhere deserted, probably in some warehouse and the arsonist would be hidden until it was necessary.

They practiced the aiming with their guns, how far the blast arrived and did again and again what they had planned for the vigilante. Also, both of them assembled and disassembled their guns and memorized where each piece went.

When the day before Snart’s date arrived he was in a warehouse with his partner, both of them wearing costumes to hide their identity. Leonard had a big parka with the cowl over his head and a domino mask to hide his face. Rory wore a firefighter jacket and a weird wrestling mask that protected both his identity and his skin from the fire.

Both of them looked at each other, nodded and when Mick finally hid the other thief froze the floor before tripping the alarm. Just a few seconds later a boy in red slipped on the ice and fell off.

“Hello there, Speedy, it’s a pleasure to finally see you.” Leonard said with the voice modulator on while shooting at him at his feet with the lowest set up. “Sorry for that, but I can’t have you running away.”

“Who are you?” The boy asked loudly. “And what do you want from me?”

When Snart heard the voice he forced himself not to show any sign of surprise and kept a straight face. He knew that voice, he usually heard it a little bit more flustered and shy, but it was easy for him to recognize it.

The thief never thought that a cutie like Barry Allen could end up being a superhero, but both of them being there showed him wrong. Some part of him was afraid of what would that mean to their relationship (one that actually wasn’t anything yet, but still), but the other part of him was pleased because if they ended up being boyfriends or whatever… Well, his partner couldn’t be less awesome than him.

“I’m a ghost, hero.” Leonard answered. “I’m the one who sometimes makes heists and doesn’t leave any proof of his existence.” He glared at the vigilante. “And unlike you, I can hide well my identity, Barry.”

The boy opened his eyes wide and tried to move, but the ice on his feet didn’t let him. Then, Snart holstered his gun and crossed his arms.

“Don’t worry, kid, I don’t want to be your enemy.” He assured. And Snart hoped that the kid believed him because it would be a big problem if he didn’t. “I just wanted to meet you and I wanted you to know that I’m here.” He smirked. “With the right motivation I can even be an ally.” Leonard shrugged. “I know that the dead guard can be a problem, but that wasn’t part of the plan and I delivered his killer to the police.”

“Do you have a name or a number I can use to locate you?” The thief almost laughed at that. Cheeky.

“Of course.” Snart said. “But I’ll tell you another day, when your friends aren’t listening.” The criminal made a sign with his head and the next moment Mick was next to the vigilante. “Free him and let’s go.”

Barry startled when he saw that another man was there too and squirmed when he saw the other gun but when the other criminal shot it didn’t hurt. In fact, it was strangely nice to feel some heat after having his feet iced.

“Why should I let you go?” The hero asked moving his feet, but he flinched when he did it because it actually hurt a little. “I could always lock you up in my private prison where you won’t be able to tell anyone my name.”

“As I said, I don’t want to be your enemy, but if you lock me up I will be.” The thief looked at the speedster one more time and decided to walk towards the door. “Besides, I have a program that will reveal your identity to the world if I don’t go back home in time, I planned this meeting, remember?” He lied. “I hope I didn’t hurt you, but I couldn’t let you do whatever you wanted.” He smirked when finally reached de door and talked one last time. “See you soon, Speedy.”

Leonard and Mick went to a safe house in silence to make sure that no one was following them and there they talked about the elephant in the room. Barry Allen was the Flash and he was not going to be amused the day he find out that his (hopefully) boyfriend was a thief and the man that froze his feet to the floor.

Both criminals argued for a while but Snart could convince him that it wasn’t going to be a problem. They had the upper hand and at worst Barry and Leonard just wouldn’t be together. At least the thief hoped that the hero was smart enough to not lock up two potential strong allies.

Thinking about Barry’s reaction, the next day arrived and Leonard and Barry met to go to their date. He wasn’t going to let anyone know, but the thief was a little bit nervous because he really liked the boy. That’s why he prepared all the necessary stuff at his house and waited for the hero.

“Hi.” Barry greeted with a wide smile in his face. “Are you ready? We still have a lot of time until the movie starts but we can eat something while we’re waiting.”

“Not yet, I’m sorry.” Leonard let the boy enter to his house and went to his bedroom. “Before we leave, I have to tell you something.” He continued speaking, though with his voice raised so the other could hear him. “I wouldn’t want to start this relationship with lies, so we need to talk.”

When he was finished getting dressed he got out of his bedroom and faced the hero. “Lies?” The younger one asked. “What are you talking about? Are you a secret prince or something like that and no one knows?”

“Not a prince, but I’m very rich.” Barry was shocked, Leonard could see it on his face. “I’m a thief, and I know you are a CSI but you don’t have to worry about that, I’m the best at what I do.” The criminal crossed his arms and looked very serious at the other man because he didn’t want the other to think he was joking. “Your turn.”

“My turn? What are…?” The speedster stopped talking and shook his head. “What are you talking about? You are a thief?!” Barry hadn’t wanted to do it, but he took a step back unconsciously. “And why on hell did you think I’m lying to you?”

It was okay. Leonard understood that Barry didn’t know him, that it was too soon and he was unsure to tell some random guy that he was a superhero now, but Snart needed to have that talk to clear everything.

“Okay, I’ll continue then.” He sighed and cleared his throat. “How are your feet? I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He said. “Hell, I didn’t know that you were The Streak until you talked.” The thief raised an eyebrow. “By the way, you should buy some tech. or something to disguise your voice as well, you never know who can recognize you.”

“What?” Snart couldn’t tell that he wasn’t enjoying Barry’s confusion because that would be a blatant lie. “Wait! You are Captain Cold?!”

“Captain Cold?” The criminal snorted very amused. “Cute. I like it.”

“Oh, my God! What the hell, Len?” The younger one frowned and tensed. Yeah, it was very clear that he didn’t like the actual situation. “You froze my feet to the floor! That hurt like hell!” He shook his head frantically. “And you’re a bloody thief, I’m a CSI, damn it! And I’m… You know who I am too!”

“Look, Barry, in a normal situation I wouldn’t have told you anything until I knew that we were serious about the relationship thing.” Leonard wasn’t used to be so honest, but this time he had to say a lot of things and it was a sensible matter. He couldn’t allow a mistake that would lead him to a constant race against the fastest man he knew not to go to the jail. “But I really like you and I’d like to go with you to watch that awful movie you’re that excited to see.” He smirked and then sighed. “And yes, I know that I’m a thief, but I don’t have a record besides that I killed my father when I was seventeen.”

It seemed like the boy really hadn’t looked for him in the police data because he opened his eyes like he had seen a ghost. Having a police father it was hard to believe, but this adorable idiot was too innocent and trusted too easily in people.

“What…?” Snart didn’t know if Barry was afraid, worried or just curious, but the boy asked a question that Leonard hated to answer because it brought too many awful memories. “Why… why did you kill your father…?”

“He enjoyed getting drunk.” For the first time, the thief looked anywhere but the other man’s eyes. “And he liked take out his anger with me as his punching bag.” Snart swallowed and breathed slowly, trying not to get anxious. “I was dealing okay with it, with police refusing to believe me, with my father blows, with everything until my sister was born.” He shook his head. “I couldn’t let my father turn her into a punching bag and a thief too, so I killed him the first time he hurt her.” He sighed again and finally looked at the hero. “The only reason I didn’t went to prison is because I could prove that my father beat me and that I actually tried to ask for help, but I went to juvie instead.” Leonard shrugged. “There I met Mick, some kids were about to kill me, but he saved my life and we’ve been together since that day.”

Barry didn’t tell anything at first, he just stayed in silence thinking about everything. The speedster needed to have everything clear and damn, he really wanted to see the movie.

“Wait, you didn’t know it was me until I talked?” The hero asked suddenly and Leonard just nodded. “Then you didn’t have any program to reveal my identity!”

The thief couldn’t help but snort. “Of course not, Scarlet, but I needed to get out of there before you could walk again.”

“You are an asshole!” The boy exclaimed with exaggeration. “Okay, we’re going to see the movie, but another day you’re going to do my tattoo again, and you’ll do it for free!”

“Again?” Snart raised both of his eyebrows and glared at the hero with confusion and some kind of warning. “What have happened to my artwork, Barry?”

“When I woke up from the coma it wasn’t there.” Barry shrugged. “I heal fast, like really fast.” He said as the only reason. “Now, let’s go, I don’t want to go running and burn our clothes.”

Yeah, Leonard had a lot of questions to do, but right now he was only interested in his date with this cute and awesome boy.

Later, though, the thief discovered that he could use his boyfriend as his personal canvas because the tattoos faded within months and Hell could freeze if he wasn’t happy with drawing his favorite designs in that beautiful body and taking pictures of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Yay! The end!  
> If you want to know...  
> -Cisco was gonna call Len "Ghost Cold", but Barry and Cait didn't let him.  
> -Len and Mick team up with the Flash more than once!  
> -The snowflake tattoo is the one that Barry always makes Len redo.  
> -Barry just confronted Len once on a heist, and only because he found out his plans early!  
> -Years later, when they're already married, they adopted a little meta girl named Elsa. We all know what his powers are.
> 
> And that's all! Please if you find a mistake tell me and I'll correct it :)  
> Thank you! <3


End file.
